Finance Monthly September 2019 Edition

20 www.finance-monthly.com FINANCE & BUSINESS - OPEN BANKING State of the UK It’s well versed that Open Banking has been slow to take off in the UK. Indeed, by the time the implementation date arrived only four of the UK’s nine biggest banks were ready. Nonetheless, we are now seeing some signs of impressive applications powered by Open Banking setting the standard for Europe. The biggest challenge in the UK was that the concept and technologies used were new, resulting in a number of iterations being required to deliver products that meet market needs. A key differentiator in the UK has been the Government introducing the Open Banking Implementation Entity that sets and polices progress. The European Landscape The European landscape looks quite It’s hard to believe we are 20 months into the finance revolution that is Open Banking in the UK. It seems only yesterday theCompetition andMarketsAuthority (CMA) decreed that larger banks’ long-standing customer relationships impeded competition and innovation. Open Banking has opened the door for third parties to access bank held account data as well as giving the ability to initiate payments from a customer’s bank. Features designed to allow new services to be delivered giving users enhanced financial services along with new, safe and secure ways to pay. Soon these opportunities will be reflected in the rest of Europe as all banks ready themselves for a September go-live date. So what can Europe learn from Open Banking in the UK? WHAT EUROPE CAN LEARN ABOUT OPEN BANKING FROM THE UK Brian Hanrahan, Chief Commercial Officer of Nuapay